Eleanor McMahon (Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport)

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Minister McMahon and Premier Wynne at Ontario 150 launch party

A Place to Stand

As Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, I’ve had the privilege to meet many proud, talented and hardworking Ontarians through my participation in a number of special events and occasions. One highlight came a few months ago.

It was a perfect late-summer day in our nation’s capital as I sat in the National Art Gallery looking out over the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill. Premier Wynne and I were there to launch our government’s program to celebrate the milestone 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017. As the audience waited for us to speak, a song was playing over the sound system. If, like me, you grew up in Ontario in the late 1960s and the years after, you know it: A Place to Stand, A Place to Grow — our unofficial anthem, introduced at Expo ’67.

Then onto the stage came Ginger Ale & The Monowhales, an up-and-coming Toronto band that embodies the excitement and youthful energy of Ontario’s 150th anniversary celebrations. They played a high-energy, irresistible update of A Place to Stand that had everyone clapping along, then stomping their feet, and finally up dancing. It was a moment I’ll never forget. You could feel the pride in the room — the kind of pride the people of Ontario feel in this incredible place we call home.

In 2017, as we celebrate all we have achieved and share our vision for a bright future for generations of Ontarians to come, I know we‘ll be singing and dancing along to A Place to Stand together.